Lee Geun-ju, chairman of the Korea Fintech Industry Association, described 2026 as a turning point for institutional change in the fintech industry and said he would strengthen the association’s role in linking member firms’ on-the-ground voices to improvements in systems.

In a New Year message on Thursday, Lee said the association would play a responsible role so that members’ voices could lead to institutional reform in 2026.

Lee said the spread of digital assets and AI technology is changing the structure of the broader financial industry. He said token securities and stablecoins based on distributed ledger technology are fundamentally changing issuance, trading and settlement in capital markets and the structure of payments and settlements. He said various fintech services based on AI, data and platforms are also spreading rapidly.

He said the current moment is not about changes in individual technologies but a time when the entire financial industry is moving to a new stage.

He pointed to the limits of institutional preparations not keeping pace with the speed of technological development.

Lee said AI and data technologies are already changing how finance operates, but if systems do not keep up, innovation will inevitably be constrained on the ground. He said what matters is not the technology itself, but how quickly technology can be translated into results within systems and markets.

Starting in 2026, the association plans to fully organise key institutional agenda items spanning digital assets, payments and settlements, AI, data and platforms, and to push for practical regulatory improvements through consultations with the National Assembly and the government. It aims to put member firms’ regulatory burdens and institutional difficulties at the centre of policy discussions so that industry realities are reflected in systems.

Lee said he would consult closely with relevant agencies so that public values such as financial stability and user protection can go hand in hand with the growth of the fintech industry. He said fintech innovation should move in a direction that reduces burdens and provides more opportunities for users, including small business owners and financially vulnerable groups.

He added that the association’s role is to connect issues and proposals raised on the ground to policy and systems, and that it would listen more and share more transparently so that members’ voices can lead to actual institutional improvements.

Lee said the association would work with member firms in 2026 to create the next stage of South Korea’s fintech industry, and he hopes it will be a year in which members’ challenges are proven through results in the market and those results lead to growth across the industry.